GUIDE 


FOR 

APPLICANTS FOR CITIZENSHIP 

BY 

C. O'C. COWLEY 


Compliments of 
C. 0»C. COWLEY 
513 Eighth Avenue 
Brooklyn. N. Y. 














GUIDE 

FOR 

APPLICANTS FOR CITIZENSHIP 



By 

C. O’C. COWLEY 


Compliments of 

C. O'C. COWLEY 

513 Eighth Avenue 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 










Copyright, l9I5t by 

C. O^C. COWLEY 


» 




GI.A414864 


DEC -2 1915 

' / . 






Table of Contents 


Page 

Prefacq^. 5 

Citizenship of the United States of America. 7 

Steps to Take... 10 

Alter the Petition is Filed. 15 

Court Opinion. 16 

Oath of Allegiance. 19 

Certificate of Naturalization. 19 

History of the United States (Abridged). 22 

Geography of the United States . 27 

Declaration of Independence. 30 

Constitution of the United States. 34 

Plelps to Study of 

Declaration of Independence. 50 

Constitution and Government of the United States. 52 

State Government. 57 

County Government. 60 

City Government... 61 

Schools, Libraries, and Reading References.. 62 

General Information. 63 

Printed Naturalization Forms. 69 

Passports. 74 






















1 

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4 

I 


1 



• S 


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Preface 


To those who are living in small communities where public 
night schools are not maintained, or to those who have neither 
the time nor the desire to attend such institutions of learning, 
this little booklet is commended in the belief that it will aid them 
to get their CITIZEN PAPERS. 

It may be carried in the pocket for frequent reference during 
rides or walks to and from work, or on Sunday and holiday ram¬ 
bles, and the text books referred to herein, and the children’s 
histories and geographies, may be read at the fireside during the 
long winter evenings. 

That the views of the writer as to the need which existed for 
such a book as this were not visionary, is fully evidenced by the 
fact that in the few weeks which have passed since the first copy 
came from the press, so great has been the demand for it, that 
up to the present time 150,000 copies have been distributed gratis. 
With the edition now issued, a quarter million copies will have 
found their way into the hands of those who were or are in need 
of the information which the booklet contains. 

The writer desires to acknowledge with sincere thanks the 
many letters addressed to him commending this volume, which 
almost invariably express the view that it not only contains much 
that is helpful to a correct interpretation of our naturalization 
laws from a judicial standpoint, but, to quote from one of these 
letters: 

“It is a marvel of condensed information, which is just as 
valuable to the man who has spent his life under the Stars and 
Stripes as to the aspiring applicant for citizenship newly arrived 
from an alien shore—for there are few of us, who, in the stress 

5 


of business activities, have not dropped some of the threads of 
the wonders of achievement of this great country of ours. As 
a catechism of essentials that every citizen should be familiar 
with it is complete and invaluable.” 

To obviate misapprehensions or misunderstandings as to 
the requirements, the United States Government maintains 
Bureaus, under the supervision of the Chief Naturalization 
Examiner, at Suite 713 to 718 , No. 5 Beekman Street (telephone 
2718 Cortland) ; at the Bronx County Clerk’s office, 161 st Street 
and Third Avenue, New York (telephone 9266 Melrose) ; and 
at the Post Office Building, Room 418 , top floor, Washington 
and Johnson Streets, Brooklyn (telephone 7040 Main), where 
information and advice may be secured FREE. 

C. O’C. COWLEY. 

New York, November 23 , 1915 . 


6 


Citizenship of the United States of America 


The duties of citizenship comprehend all that is necessary to 
give effect to the principles 'of the Constitution of the United 
States, the purpose of which is so admirably and succinctly set 
forth in its preamble: 

“We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a 
more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tran¬ 
quility, provide for the common defense, promote the general 
Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and 
our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION 
for the United States of America.” 

Chief among the privileges which citizenship confers upon 
otherwise properly qualified residents, is the right of franchise, 
which, under the laws of most of the States, none but male 
citizens may enjoy. It is also a necessary qualification that is 
exacted of all candidates for public office, and of Municipal, 
State and Federal Civil Service officeholders. 

This Government denies the right of a foreign Government 
to impeach a certificate of naturalization issued by an American 
court. 


CITIZENSHIP BY BIRTH. 

As most of US are aware, all persons born in the United 
States, regardless of sex, race or color, including even the 
Chinese and Japanese, are citizens of the United States, and of 
the State wherein they reside. 


7 


NATURALIZATION. 


Naturalization is' the act of adopting foreigners and clothing 
them with all the privileges of citizenship; they become members 
of our great society, possess all the rights of a native citizen, 
and stand, in the view of the Constitution, on the footing of a 
native. 


COLLECTIVE NATURALIZATION. 

Naturalization may be conferred upon certain people in mass, 
or upon particular classes of persons, and may be effected by 
conquest, by treaty, by special Act of Congress, or by admission 
of new States. 


Derivative Naturalization. 

Naturalization is also acquired, without the filing of formal 
papers, by minor children through the naturalization of their 
parents, or upon illegitimate children where the reputed father 
marries the mother and is subsequently naturalized, but a citizen 
of the United States cannot, by adopting a child of foreign na¬ 
tionality, confer on such child the privilege of citizenship in the 
United States. 

So, ’ too, any woman capable of naturalization under our 
laws, who marries a citizen of the United States, whether native 
or naturalized, is by the act of such marriage admitted to be a 
citizen of the United States. Thus the naturalization of the 
alien husband naturalizes his wife and all of their minor children, 
if such children are dwelling in the United States. 


8 


INDIVIDUAL NATURALIZATION BY FORMAL PAPERS. 

All aliens are not eligible for citizenship under our naturaliza¬ 
tion laws. Only those who are free white persons or who are 
of African nativity, or of African descent, may be naturalized. 
Chinese, Japanese, Malays, and brown races, not being con¬ 
sidered white persons or persons of the African race, cannot be 
naturalized. Illiterates—those who cannot sign their names or 
who cannot speak English—anarchists, polygamists, or those 
who believe in anarchy or polygamy, felons and immoral char¬ 
acters are also excluded. Murderers, thieves, bribers and per¬ 
jurers are also barred from citizenship, and it has also been held 
by the courts that habitual gambling or selling of liquors, when 
forbidden by statute, would be a bar to admission. Upon gen¬ 
eral principles it would seem that whatever is forbidden by the 
law of the land ought to be considered for the time being im- 
‘moral, and it may be said with good reason that a person who 
violates the law thereby manifests in a greater or less degree 
that he is not “well disposed to the good order and happiness” 
of the country. 

Individual naturalization niay be obtained by compliance with 
the formalities prescribed by the general naturalization laws, 
and aliens who desire to file naturalization papers or who are 
seeking information relative thereto are advised to carefully 
peruse this booklet, in order that they may be warned and on 
their guard against impositions which may be attempted to be 
practiced upon them. They are cautioned to avoid all persons 
who attempt to thrust their services upon them and who have 
absolutely no official connection with naturalization matters. 
Such persons frequently represent themselves as being in a 
position to expedite and facilitate the proceedings, but such 
claims are false, and those who make them are usually grafters 
who are not above making the wildest misrepresentations in 
order to extort money from their victims. 

9 


As this volume is intended to help those seeking individual 
naturalization by formal papers, hereunder are recited the 

Steps to Take 

Declaration of Intention (or first step to become a 
citizen) may be made by those who have reached the age of 18 
years, and at any time after their arrival in the United States, 
in the County Clerk’s Office of the County of which they are 
legal residents, or in the United States Court Clerk’s Office, in 
whose jurisdiction they reside, on any working day between nine 
o’clock in the morning and four o’clock in the afternoon, and on 
Saturdays until noon. 

The declarants must appear in person at the Court Clerk’s 
Office, as the law does not permit him to receive declarations 
elsewhere or through the mails. It is important that the declarant* 
furnish the clerk of court with his true name, and if he has ever 
been known by or used any other name to also advise the clerk 
of such fact. The work of preparing the declaration in the 
Court Clerk’s Office will be expedited if the applicant will come 
prepared to correctly answer the following questions: 

Place and date of birth. Height. Weight. 

Place at which he boarded vessel which brought him to the 
United States. 

Name of such vessel and place and date of its arrival in the 
United States. 

Place of last foreign residence. 

No other information need be prepared by applicants for 
declaration of intention. 

No witnesses are required. 

The proceeding is very simple, usually taking but a few min¬ 
utes. 

For information concerning locations of naturalization clerks’ offices and courts 
see page 63. 


10 


The fee is $1 only, payable to the clerk. 

For form of declaration which the applicant will be required 
to sign and swear to, see p. 69. 

Any money in excess of this fee of $1 demanded, charged, 
collected, or received, makes the offender liable under a Federal 
statute to imprisonment for not more than two years, or by a 
fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by both such fine 
and imprisonment, and your co-operation is requested with a 
view to the punishment of such offenders by your reporting 
such violations to the Chief Naturalization Examiner, 5 Beek- 
man Street, New York, N. Y. 

The clerk will furnish you with a copy of your declaration. 
Read it carefully before you leave the Court Clerk’s Office and 
satisfy yourself that no mistakes have been made in reducing 
your statements to writing. If any mistake appears call it to the 
clerk’s attention at once. 

Upon your return to your home or business address put your 
declaration in a safe place, as in case it should become lost, de¬ 
stroyed, or stolen, delay will ensue in the issuance of a copy 
until such time as the Government has investigated the circum¬ 
stances surrounding the loss, destruction or theft, strict super¬ 
vision being exercised in all such cases to guard against fraud 
and trafficking. 

A fee of $1.30 for duplicates of lost declarations and certifi¬ 
cates (and if for land office purposes $1.50), is charged by the 
clerks of the United States courts. 

For form of application'for duplicate of declaration or cer¬ 
tificate, which the applicant is required to sign and swear to, 
see page 73. 

The Petition for Naturalization (or second step to be¬ 
come A citizen) may be made by aliens* in the County Clerk’s 

* For information concerning locations of naturalization clerks’ offices and courts 
see page 63. 


11 



Office of the County of which they are legal residents, or in 
the United States Court Clerk’s Office, in whose jurisdiction 
they reside, on any working day between nine o’clock in the 
morning and four o’clock in the afternoon, and on Saturdays 
until noon, provided, however, 

AND THIS IS IMPORTANT 

that the declaration of intention,* which is the basis for the peti¬ 
tion is 

NOT LESS THAN 2 YEARS AND NOT MORE THAN 7 

YEARS OLDf 

and that the applicant has resided continuously in the United 
States for at least five years and in the State of New York for 
at least one year just before such petition is made.* * 

Those arriving in the United States after June 29, 
1906, however, cannot petition for naturalization until they first 
secure evidence of the date of their arrival in the form of a 
“Certificate of Arrival,” form for which may be secured upon 
application to the Court Clerk. 

The petitioner (applicant for citizenship) must appear in per¬ 
son at the Court Clerk’s office to file his petition. He must be 
accompanied by at least two witnesses who are citizens of the 
United States, and who have personally known him in the 
United States for more than five years continuously and in the 

* For those classes of aliens exempt from the requirement of declaring intention 
see General Information, page 63. 

t Declaration of intention may be used to support a petition on its second anni¬ 
versary and does not expire until the close of business on its seventh anniversary. 
(Example: Declaration made January 1, 1913, may be used on January 1, 1915, and 
is valid until the close of business on January 1, 1920. 

* * For exceptions as to residence requirements see General Information, page 63. 

12 



State of New York for at least one year, just before the petition 
is filed, and who are prepared to swear to such facts, and also 
that he is of good character, law abiding, and a lover of our 
country and its institutions. 

In case the petitioner has not resided in the State of New 
York for the full period of five years immediately preceding the 
date of his petition, he may establish by the personal appearance 
of two witnesses, both in his petition and at the hearing, the 
period of his residence within the State, provided it has been for 
more than one year, and the remaining portion of his residence 
within the United States may be proved by the depositions of 
two or more witnesses who are citizens of the United States, for 
which purpose the clerk of court will furnish the applicant with 
a printed form at the time he files his application. 

The petitioner must also take with him to the clerk’s office his 
declaration of intention for filing with his petition. 

As in the case of declarants, an applicant for naturalization 
must furnish the clerk of court not only with his full true name, 
but also such other name or names as he may have used or been 
known by at any time. 

The work of preparing the form of petition for naturalization 
in the Court Clerk’s office will be expedited if the petitioner 
will come prepared to correctly answer the following questions: 

Place and date of birth and of arrival in United States. 

Place of last foreign residence. 

Name of vessel which brought him to United States. 

If married, name, place of birth, age, and residence of wife, 
and names, places and dates of birth, and places of residence of 
children. 

If previous petition filed, reason for denial, and name of 
court and date of filing. 

A copy of the form containing these questions, etc., may be 
obtained upon application to Court Clerk. 

13 


The procedure attending the filing of the petition is very 
simple, usually taking but a half hour at most. 

The fee is $4 only, payable to the clerk. The same penalties 
apply to persons who accept or demand moneys in excess of this 
amount (see page 11). 

For form of petition which the applicant and his witnesses 
will be required to sign and swear to, see pp. 70-72. 

Declarants and petitioners are warned not to attempt to “get 
through” by making any false statement in their declarations or 
petitions. It should be borne in mind that all of the statements 
made in these documents must be signed and sworn to and a 
single false material statement is made a felony under the Federal 
Statutes, and the oflfender may be sentenced to be imprisoned 
for a term of five years and fined in the sum of one thousand 
dollars. 

Petitioners and witnesses are also warned that the laws of the 
United States make it a felony for a witness to sw^ear that he 
has known a petitioner at least five years, unless he has actually 
known the applicant for that length of time. Conviction of this 
offense may result in five years imprisonment and one thousand 
dollars fine for the offender. Incidentally the applicant may re¬ 
ceive the same punishment for having procured a witness to 
falsely testify for him. 


14 


After the Petition is Filed 

After the petition is accepted by the clerk the petitioner is 
furnished with a certificate showing such filing, with the court 
number of his application printed thereon. This card should 
be retained for reference in case correspondence with the Clerk 
or Chief Examiner is necessary. 

Not less than ninety days after the filing of the petition, 
during which time the Government conducts a very thorough 
investigation of the statements theretofore made by the petitioner 
and his two witnesses, 

THE TFIIRD AND LAST STEP 

in the process of naturalization, 

THE FINAL HEARING 

is undertaken when the petitioner and his two witnesses appear 
in open court. 


APPEARANCE OF THE UNITED .STATES. 

The United States now has the right to appear for the pur¬ 
pose of cross-examining the petitioner and the witnesses pro¬ 
duced in support of his petition, concerning any matter touching 
on or in any way affecting his right to citizenship, and has the 
right to call witnesses, produce evidence, and be heard in oppo¬ 
sition to the granting of any petition in naturalization pro¬ 
ceedings. 


15 


The requirements of the Court cannot better be set forth 
than by quoting in full, at this point, the opinion of the Honorable 
Eugene A. Philbin, Justice of the Supreme Court for the State 
of New York, dated July 20, 1915: 


"^crrk .piqjrcmc (C^ourt 

NEW YORK COUNTY 


SPECIAL TERM, PART 11 


IN THE MATTER 
OF 

NATURALIZATION PROCEEDINGS 


Present : 

HON. EUGENE 
A. PHILBIN 
Justice. 


THE COURT: 


July 20, 1915. 


It is not only essential that the applicant for citizenship should 
fulfill ostensibly the requirements prescribed by the statutes of 
the United States, but he should also be instructed as to their 
true meaning and significance by the authoritative voice of the 
Court Upon whom devolves the duty of interpreting said statutes 
and of determining whether the requirements therein specified 
have been met. 

The Court must be satisfied before granting the application 
that the petitioner has, for five years immediately preceding 
the date of his application, resided continuously within 'the 
United States and has behaved as a man of good moral char¬ 
acter, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United 
States and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the 
same. The statement under oath of the petitioner to the fore- 

16 





going must be supported by the testimony of at least two wit¬ 
nesses, citizens of the United States. 

That the petitioner must not be a polygamist or person who 
disbelieves in or who is opposed to organized government, or 
who is a member of or affiliated with any organization entertain¬ 
ing and teaching such disbelief in or opposition to organized 
government, or who advocates or teaches the duty, necessity or 
propriety of the unlawful assaulting or killing of any officer or 
officers, either of specific individuals or of officers generally, of 
the Government of the United States, or of any other organized 
government, because of his or their official character. 

That the petitioner can speak the English language, unless 
physically unable. That the petitioner intends to sincerely re¬ 
nounce forever all allegiance to any foreign sovereignty, and 
particularly by name, to the sovereignty of which he is at the 
time a citizen or subject. Not only must a five years residence 
be obtained, but the petitioner must file at least two years before 
he applies for citizenship, a declaration of his intention to make 
such application. 

It has not been found possible to prescribe with any degree 
of detail general rules as to the evidence to be submitted, but 
the Court must reach a conclusion upon the circumstances in 
each case. The said five-year and two-year periods are not re¬ 
quired solely to afiford a test of the petitioner’s fulfillment of the 
above requirements and his sincerity. They are also intended 
to cause the decision of the applicant to be based upon an ade¬ 
quate knowledge of the Constitution and governmental institu¬ 
tions of the United States, so that when he eventually takes the 
solemn step contemplated a mind fully informed shall reach a 
lasting conclusion. 

If, when after the expiration of said two years following his 
declaration of intention, the petitioner presents himself to the 
Court with littk or no evidence of any substantial attempt \Q 

17 


qualify as a citizen by becoming reasonably familiar with the 
forms of government and the language, the sincerity of his inten¬ 
tion to renounce allegiance to his native country and assume 
allegiance to the United States may well be questioned. The 
motive for the application in such circumstances may be based 
solely upon some exigency relating to the petitioner’s inability 
to advance himself- financially or otherwise and wholly unrelated 
to any patriotic feeling toward the United States. 

The renunciation of allegiance to the country of which he is a 
citizen must be complete and final, and without any reservation 
whatsoever. There can be no divided allegiance. The natural 
love for the traditions of the land of his birth must always be 
cherished as a sacred thing, but it should be a thing separate and 
distinct from his pride in and devotion to his adopted country. 
He must become in the fullest sense an unqualified American, 
ready to sacrifice everything in the discharge of the duty de¬ 
manded by an uncompromising loyalty. It should be assured that 
there never at any time will be room for doubt in the minds of 
his fellow citizens as to his attitude of entire support of the gov¬ 
ernment and institutions of the United States, and as to his 
refusal to give its enemies adherence or comfort. The assump¬ 
tion of the new citizenship must involve the intention that an 
indissoluble tie shall be created. 

The proceedings under the statute are of the very greatest im¬ 
portance to those who are already citizens of the United States, 
as the granting of the petition gives the petitioner a voice in the 
making of the laws through his vote and makes him eligible to 
hold public office, privileges which, in most instances, were unob¬ 
tainable by the petitioner in the land of his birth. 

It follows that, before the Court can properly grant the peti¬ 
tion for admission to citizenship, it should be satisfied that there 
is sufficient evidence that the true intent of the statute would be 
fulfilled by the granting of the petition. 

18 


And now, if the petitioner can satisfy the Court of his gen¬ 
eral fitness to exercise the rights and duties of American citizen¬ 
ship, he is called upon to make the following sworn declaration: 

OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. 

“I do hereby declare, ON OATH, that I absolutely and en¬ 
tirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any 
foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, and particularly 
to.the.of.of whom I have here¬ 

tofore been a subject; that I will support and defend the Con¬ 
stitution and Laws of the United States of America against 
all enemies, foreign and domestic; and that I will bear true 
faith and allegiance to the same, SO HELP ME GOD.” 

RENUNCIATION OF TITLE OR ORDER OF NOBILITY. 

In case the applicant has borne any hereditary title, or has 
been of any of the orders of nobility in the kingdom or state 
from which he came, he shall also make an express renunciation 
of his title or order of nobility, and his renunciation shall be 
recorded in the court. 

CHANGE OF NAME. 

It shall be lawful at the time and as a part of the naturaliza¬ 
tion of any alien, for the court, in its discretion, upon the petition 
of such alien, to make a decree changing the name of said alien, 
and a certificate of naturalization shall be issued to him in ac¬ 
cordance therewith. 

Certificate of Naturalization 

After the order of admission is duly signed by the court, 
it is made the duty of the clerk of court to issue a certificate 
of naturalization to the newly made citizen in substantially the 
following form (It is a violation of law for any clerk to issue 
a certificate of naturalization except upon a final order of the 
Court). 


19 





THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 


CERTIFICATE OF NATURALIZATION. 

Petition, Volume.. Number. 

Description of holder: Age,.; height, . .. . ; color, . ... ; 

complexion, .; color of eyes, .; color of hair, .; 

visible distinguishing marks, . Name, age, and place of 

residence of wife, ., ., . Names, ages, and 

places of residence of minor children ., ., .; 


.,., ss: (Signature of holder) 

Be it remembered, that at a.term of the.court 

of., held at.on the.day of., in the 

year of our Lord nineteen hundred and.,., who 

previous to his (her) naturalization was a citizen or subject of 

.. at present residing at number. ...street, . 

city (town),.State (Territory or District), having applied 

to be admitted a citizen of the United States of America pursuant 
to law, and the court having found that the petitioner had resided • 
continuously within the United States for at least five years and 
in this State for one year immediately preceding the date of the 
hearing of his (her) petition, and that said petitioner intends to 
reside permanently in the United States, had in all respects com¬ 
plied with the law in relation thereto, and that . .he was en¬ 
titled to be so admitted, it was thereupon ordered by the said 
court that . .he be admitted as a citizen of the United States 
of America. 

In testimony whereof the seal of said court is hereunto affixed 


on the.day of., in the year of our Lord nineteen 

hundred and.and of our independence the. 


L. S. 


(Official character of attestor.) 


20 




























These certificates are engraved on gray safety paper, consecu¬ 
tively numbered, with the seal of the Department of Labor of 
the United States watermarked thereon as safeguards against 
counterfeiting; and forgeries of these certificates are punishable 
by a fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than ten 
years, or both. 

The Clerk of Court is not permitted to exact any additional 
charge for the issuance of this certificate. 



21 


Abridged History of the United States 


Discoveries and Settlements. Before the year 1492 noth¬ 
ing was known of America. It was in that year that Christopher 
Columbus, an Italian, discovered America, finding the country 
inhabited by Indians. Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, England 
and Holland sent over explorers to claim the land and gather 
some of the wealth of which they had heard, and many years 
afterwards people came here to live. Spain made the first set¬ 
tlement at Saint Augustine in Florida in 1565, the English mak¬ 
ing other settlements in Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, 
and Maryland. 

The Beginning of the City of New York. In 1613 some 
fur traders built houses on Manhattan Island, after Hendrick 
Hudson, a Dutch trader, had sailed into what is now the Harbor 
of New York, and discovered the river which is called after 
him—the Hudson River. 

The colonists, as the settlers were called, had a hard time 
to live. They had to make their own houses from the trees that 
they cut down and to defend themselves from Indian attacks, 
and to make their own clothing and weapons, and to convert the 
forests into fields. 

They endured all these hardships, for America meant much 
to them—it was only here they enjoyed true liberty. 

The settlements grew as the years went by and more people 
came from Europe, fields were cultivated and schools and 
churches were built in greater numbers, and the people pros¬ 
pered. 

The French and Indian War arose over a dispute concern¬ 
ing the ownership of what is now Canada and the western part 

22 


of this country. The English army was assisted by the colonists, 
and the French by some of the Indian tribes. After ten years of 
warfare, most of the battles having been fought along what is 
now the Canadian border, England won and became master of 
North America. 

The war was very expensive, so the English king levied heavy 
taxes on the colonists. Their complaints to the king that if they 
were taxed they ought to be represented in Parliament resulted 
in n^ore unjust taxes and severe laws being enacted, until finally 
in 1774 men from all the colonies met in Philadelphia to decide 
what to do. This was the first Continental Congress. The king 
would not give in. 

The Revolutionary War. In the spring of 1775 the British 
general at Boston sent out some soldiers to seize some powder 
and supplies which the colonists had collected nearby. Fifty 
men came together to protect their property. The soldiers fired 
on them, killing eight. This was the beginning of the Revolu¬ 
tionary War. Soon all the colonists collected and prepared to 
defend their homes and their right to liberty. 

George Washington was appointed the head of the army, 
and under his wonderful leadership, after eight years of war¬ 
fare, the great armies which had been sent over from England 
to subdue the colonists were defeated, the British army finally 
surrendering at Yorktown, Virginia. In Brooklyn was fought 
one of the greatest battles of the war—“The Battle of Long 
Island.” Monuments have been erected in Prospect Park and 
other places throughout that borough to coynmemorate this 
battle. Assisting General Washington were such champions of 
liberty as Lafayette, Rochambeau, and DeGrasse, who were 
Frenchmen; Steuben and DeKalb, Germans, and Pulaski and 
Kosciusko, Poles. 

Brooklyn at that time was merely a collection of houses 
around the Fulton Ferry and a few farms farther out. 

23 


The Birthday of the United States. On July 4, 1776, 
amid the cheering of the people, the ringing of bells, and gen¬ 
eral rejoicing, the representatives of the colonies signed the 
declaration of independence—a document which contained all 
the grievances against the English king and declared that hence¬ 
forth the colonies were free and independent. (For Declaration 
of Independence in full, see page 30.) 

Every year the Fourth of July is a holiday so that the people 
of this country may celebrate the nation’s birthday. 

The Constitution of the United States was formed in 
Philadelphia in 1787 by delegates of the thirteen original states. 
The thirteen original states were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl¬ 
vania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, and Georgia. 

The Constitution is the highest law of the country to which 
every other law must give way and contains the plan of govern¬ 
ment. It has lived down to this day with but very few changes. 

It guarantees us our rights and liberties, does away with all 
nobility (kings and the like), and puts every man on an equal 
footing. 

For Constitution in full, see page 34, 

The First President of the United States, George 
Washington, the “Father of his Country,” of whom it is said he 
was “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his 
countrymen,” beloved of all the people, whose generalship had 
won them their liberty, served two terms of four years each, 
from 1789 to 1797, and refused election for a third term. 

During his administration treaties were entered into with 
other nations; courts were established; money was begun to be 
‘coined; inventions were patented, and Great Prosperity 
Reigned. 

The First Naturalization Law was passed by Congress in 

24 


1796, fixing five years as the time a person must reside in this 
country before he can become naturalized, just as it is today. 

Since that time the following succeeded to the Presidency 
in the order named: John Adams, Thomas Jefiferson, James 
Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jack- 
son, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, 
James Knox Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Filmore, Franklin 
Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, 
Ulysses Simpson Grant, Rutherford Birchard Hayes, James 
Abram Garfield, Chester Alan Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benja¬ 
min Harrison, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William 
Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson, who is now President of 
the United States. 

Notwithstanding the wonderful growth and prosperity of 
the United States during these various administrations, a number 
of wars were fought, first with the Indians; a second war with 
England in 1812; a war with Mexico in 1845; the great Civil 
War in 1861, and finally, coming down to our day, the War with 
Spain in 1898. All of these wars resulted in victories for the 
Americans, the most important and most bitterly fought of them 
being the Civil War, which was a contest between the Northern 
and Southern states, as the result of which it was determined 
once and for all that slavery should not exist in the United States, 
and that the states cannot secede from the Union. During the 
four years that this war was waged, the President of the United 
States was Abraham Lincoln, who was born in a log cabin in 
Kentucky of very poor parents, and who through perseverance 
and self-education attained the highest office in the gift of 
the people. 

Some of the noteworthy events which have transpired during 
the past hundred years of the history of this country have been: 
First, construction of canals and roads, which were essential to 
commerce between the states; in 1819 the first steamboat cross- 

25 


ing the Atlantic Ocean; a few years later the building of the 
first railroad in the United States, which was only three miles 
long; in 1848 the discovery of gold in California, which brought 
thousands of people West to prospect and which built up that 
section of the country almost over night; in 1883 tlie completion 
of the Brooklyn Bridge, the greatest engineering feat of its 
time, and in 1885 the presentation by France to the United States 
of the Statue of Liberty. 

Coming to the history of our day, probably the most im¬ 
portant event has been the completing and opening of the Panama 
Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and 
shortens by about fifteen thousand miles the journey by water 
between the Eastern and Western coasts, and which will greatly 
assist in extending the nation’s trade. 

From Washington’s time to today, as the West and South 
expanded, various states were admitted to the Union, till now 
from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and from Canada 
to Mexico, there stretch forty-eight states. 

The glorious history, magnificent growth, and wonderful 
progress of this country can in a great measure be attributed to 
the efforts of the millions of people who from year to year have 
come to America in search of, and who have found, liberty, true 
happiness, education, and prosperity. 


26 


Geography of the United States 

The United States of America extends 1600 miles from north 
to south and 2800 miles from east to west. It is bounded on the 
North by the Dominion of Canada; East, Atlantic Ocean; South, 
Gulf of Mexico and Mexico; West, Pacific Ocean. As illustrat¬ 
ing its great area it need only be said that it is considerably more 
than twice as large as Germany, France, Great Britain and Ire¬ 
land, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Spain, Greece, Holland, Belgium, 
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Servia and 
Bulgaria combined. 

It is divided into forty-eight States and two Territories and 
its Capital, Washington, is located in the District of Columbia, 
(between Maryland and Virginia) on the Potomac River. 

The residence of the President is called the White House, and 
Congress and the Supreme Court meet in a building called the 
Capitol. Both of these buildings are located in Washington, 
which city is distant about 225 miles southwest of New York 
City. ; < 

The following are the forty-eight states, with the capital of 


each state: 





NEW ENGLAND STATES 


State 

Capital 

State 

Capital 

Maine 

Augusta 

Massachusetts 

Boston 

New Hampshire 

Concord 

Rhode Island 

Providence 

Vermont 

Montpelier 

Connecticut 

Hartford 


MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES 


New York 

Albany 

Maryland 

Annapolis 

New Jersey 

Trenton 

Virginia 

Richmond 

Pennsylvania 

Harrisburg 

West Virginia 

Charleston 

Delaware 

Dover 




27 


SOUTHERN STATES 


State 

Capital 

State 

Capital 

North Carolina 

Raleigh 

Louisiana 

Baton Rouge 

South Carolina 

Columbia 

Arkansas 

Little Rock 

Georgia 

Atlanta 

Tennessee 

Nashville 

Florida 

Tallahassee 

Texas 

Austin 

Alabama 

Montgomery 

Oklahoma 

Oklahoma City 

Mississippi 

Jackson 




CENTRAL STATES 


Wisconsin 

Madison 

Kansas 

Topeka 

Michigan 

Lansing 

Nebraska 

Lincoln 

Illinois 

Springfield 

Iowa 

Des Moines 

Indiana 

Indianapolis 

Minnesota 

St. Paul 

Ohio 

Columbus 

North Dakota 

Bismarck 

Kentucky 

Frankfort 

South Dakota 

Pierre 

■Missouri 

Jefferson City 




WESTERN STATES 


California 

Sacramento 

Idaho 

Boise 

Nevada 

Carson City 

Montana 

Helena 

Utah 

Salt Lake City 

Wyoming 

Cheyenne 

Colorado 

Denver 

Arizona 

Phoenix 

Washington 

Olympia 

New Mexico 

.Santa Fe 

Oregon 

Salem 




The two territories are Alaska and Hawaii. 

The possessions of the United States are: Porto Rico, Philip¬ 
pine Islands, Guam (largest of the Padrone Islands), Tituila (in 
Samoan Islands), Wake and other islands (between Hawaii and 
Guam). 

The population of the United States and its possessions is 
about one hundred million persons. The population of the State 
of New York—containing more people than any other state— 
according to the 1910 Census is 9,113,279. 

28 


i 

The eight largest cities in the United States with population, 
according to 1910 Census, are 


New York 
Chicago 
Philadelphia 
St. Louis 


5,498,982* 

2,185,283 

1,549,008 

687,029 


Boston 

Cleveland 

Baltimore 

Pittsburgh 


670,585 

560,663 

558,483 

533,095 


The capital of New York State is Albany, which is located 
about 150 miles north of New York City. The governor’s resi¬ 
dence and the State Capitol building, in which the Legislature 
meets to make the laws for the State, are situated in Albany. 

* According to New York City’s Police Department census completed on November 
10 , 1915 . 


29 



The Declaration of Independence 


In Congress, July 4th, 1776. 

THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN 
UNITED’STATES OF AMERICA. 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one 
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with 
another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and 
equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle 
them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they 
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created 
equal; that they are endowed, by their creator, with certain inalienable 
rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 
That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, 
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that, when¬ 
ever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is 
the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new 
government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its 
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their 
safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments 
long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; 
and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more dis¬ 
posed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by 
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long 
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, 
evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their 
right, it is their duty, to throw' off such government, and to provide new 
guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance 
of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them 
to alter their former systems of government. The history of the pres¬ 
ent king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpa¬ 
tions, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny 

30 


over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid 
world. 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary 
for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and 
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent 
should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to 
attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large 
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of 
representation in the Legislature—a right inestimable to them, and for¬ 
midable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncom¬ 
fortable, and distant from the repository of their public records, for the 
sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with 
manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, * to cause 
others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of anni¬ 
hilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise, the 
State remaining, in the meantime, exposed to all the dangers of invasions 
from without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of there States; for 
that purpose obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners; 
refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the 
conditions of new appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his 
assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of 
their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms 
of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without 
the consent of our Legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior 
to, the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign 
to our Constitutions, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent 
to their acts of pretended legislation; 

31 


For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: 

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any mur¬ 
ders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States: 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world: 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent: 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury: 

For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offenses: 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring 
province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its 
boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for 
introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies: 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, 
and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments: 

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves in¬ 
vested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his pro¬ 
tection, and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, 
and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries 
to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun, 
with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most 
barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high 
seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of 
their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored 
to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, 
whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all 
ages, sexes, and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress 
in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered 
only by repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by 
every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free 
people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We 
have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislature 
to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded 
them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We 

32 . 


have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have 
conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these 
usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and cor¬ 
respondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of 
consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which 
denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of man¬ 
kind, enemies in war; in peace friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, 
in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the 
world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the 
authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and de¬ 
clare that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and 
independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the 
British crown, and that all political connection between them and the 
State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as 
free and independent States, they have full power to levy war, conclude 
peace, contract alliances establish commerce, and to do all other acts and 
things which independent States may of right do. And for the support 
of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Provi¬ 
dence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and 
our sacred honor. 

Signed by order and in behalf of the Congress. 


33 


The Constitution 

of the 

United States of America 

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect 
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the 
common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Bless¬ 
ings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and es¬ 
tablish this Constitution for the United States of America. 

article I. 

Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in 
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Representatives. 

Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, 
and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for 
Electors of the mc^t numerous Branch of the State Legislature. 

No Person snail be a Representative who shall not have attained to 
the Age of twenty-five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of 
that State in which he shall be chosen. 

[Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the 
several States which may be included within this Union, according to their 
respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole 
Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term 
of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other 
Persons.] The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years 
after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within 
every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by 
Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for 
every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representa¬ 
tive; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State'of New Hamp¬ 
shire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island 

34 


and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six. New 
Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia 
ten. North Carolina five. South Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the 
Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such 
Vacancies. 

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other 
Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. 

Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six 
Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the 
first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. 
The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Ex¬ 
piration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of 
the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth 
Year, so that one-third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacan¬ 
cies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legis¬ 
lature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appoint¬ 
ments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such 
Vacancies. 

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age 
of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and 
who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he 
shall be chosen. 

The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the 
Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. 

The Senate shall choose their other Officers, and also a President pro 
tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise 
the Office of President of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When 
sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the 
President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: 
And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds 
of the Members present. 

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to 
removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of 
honor. Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted 

35 


shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment 
and Punishment, according to Law. 

Section 4, The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for 
Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the 
Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or 
/ alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of Choosing Senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such 
Meeting shall be on the first Monday in Decem.ber, unless they shall by 
Law appoint a different Day. 

Section 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Re¬ 
turns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each 
shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may 
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the. Attend¬ 
ance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as 
each House, may provide. 

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its 
Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two- 
thirds, expel a Member. 

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time 
to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment 
require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House 
on any question shall, at the Desire of one-fifth of those Present, be 
entered on the Journal. 

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the 
Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other 
Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 

Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Com¬ 
pensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of 
the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Trea¬ 
son, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during 
their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going 
to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in 
either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place. 

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he 
was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the 
United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof 
shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any 

3G 


Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during 
his Continuance in Office. 

Section 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House 
of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur -with Amend¬ 
ments as on other Bills. 

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate*, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the President 
of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall 
return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have origi¬ 
nated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and pro¬ 
ceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two-thirds of that 
House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the 
Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsid¬ 
ered, and if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall become a 
Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined 
by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against 
the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If 
any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays 
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a 
Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their 
Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. 

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a 
question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the 
United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved 
by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of 
the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and 
Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill. 

Section 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, 
Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the com¬ 
mon Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, 
Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian Tribes; 

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws 
on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and 
fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; 

37 


To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and 
current Coin of the United States; 

To establish Post Offices and post Roads; 

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for 
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their re¬ 
spective Writings and Discoveries; 

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; 

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high 
Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations; 

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make 
Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; 

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to 
that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; 

To provide and maintain a Navy; 

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and 
naval Forces; 

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the 
Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; 

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and 
for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of 
the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment 
of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to 
the discipline prescribed by Congress; 

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such 
District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular 
States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Govern¬ 
ment of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places 
purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the 
Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock¬ 
yards, and other needful Buildings;—And 

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying 
into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this 
Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Depart¬ 
ment or Officef thereof. 

Section 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any 
of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be 
prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred 
and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not 
exceeding ten dollars for each Person. 

38 


The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in Cases of Rel)ellion or Invasion the publie Safety may 
require it. 

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. 

No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall l)e laid, unless in Pro¬ 
portion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. 

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. 

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or 
Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall 
Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay 
Duties in another. 

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of 
Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and xA.ccount of 
the Receipts and Expendituies of all public Money shall be published from 
time to time. 

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no 
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without 
the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, 
or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. 

Section 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Con¬ 
federation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal: coin Vloney; emit Bills 
of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment 
of Debts; pass any Bill of xUttainder, ex post facto Law, or Law im¬ 
pairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. 

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts 
or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary 
for executing it’s inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and 
Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use 
of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be sub¬ 
ject to the Revision and Control of the Congress. 

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty of 
Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any 
Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or 
engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as 
will not admit of delay. 


ARTICLE II. 

Section 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. Pie shall hold his Office during the Term of 

39 . 


four Years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same 
Term, be elected, as follows: 

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof 
may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators 
and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: 
but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust 
or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. 

[The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot 
for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the 
same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the 
Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they 
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of Government of 
the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President 
of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. 
The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, 
if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors ap¬ 
pointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and 
have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall 
immediately choose by Ballot one of them for President; and if no 
Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said 
House shall in like Manner choose the President. But in choosing the 
President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from 
each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of 
a Member or Members from two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of 
all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the 
Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes 
of the Electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain 
two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall choose from them 
by Ballot the Vice-President.]^ 

The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and 
the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the 
same throughout the United States. 

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United 
States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible 
to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that 
Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and 
been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. 


* Superseded by 12th Amendment, page 47. 

40 



In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his 
Deatli, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of 
the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the 
Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resigna¬ 
tion or Inability, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring what 
Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, 
until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Com¬ 
pensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the 
Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive 
within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any 
of them. 

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the 
following Oath or Affirmation:—“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I 
will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and 
will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Con¬ 
stitution of the United States.” 

Section 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the 
Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several 
States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may 
require the Opinion in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the 
executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their 
respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and 
Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Im¬ 
peachment. 

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the 
Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present 
concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent 
of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and 
Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the 
United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, 
and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest 
the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the 
President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. 

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may hap¬ 
pen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which 
shall expire at the End of their next Session. 

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Informa¬ 
tion of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideratign 

41 


such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on 
extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in 
Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Ad¬ 
journment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; 
he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take 
Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the 
Officers of the United States. 

Section 4. The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and 
Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

Section 1. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested 
in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme 
and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and 
shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which 
shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. 

Section 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and 
Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and 
Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;—to all 
Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;—to all 
Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to which 
the United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies between two or more 
States;—between a State and Citizens of another State;—between Citizens 
of different States;—between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands 
under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens 
thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects. 

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Con¬ 
suls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall 
have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before-mentioned, the 
supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and 
Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress 
shall make. 

The trial of all Crimes, except iti Cases of Impeachment, shall be by 
Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes 
shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the 
Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have 
directed. 


Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in 
levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them 
Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on 
the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession 
in open Court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, 
hut no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or For¬ 
feiture except during the Life of the Person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Section 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the 
public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And 
the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such 
Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof. 

Section 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privi¬ 
leges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. 

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, 
who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on de¬ 
mand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be de¬ 
livered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime. 

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regu¬ 
lation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be 
delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may 
be due. 

Section 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Juris¬ 
diction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of 
two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legis¬ 
latures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful 
Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property be¬ 
longing to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so 
construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any 
particular State. 

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this 
Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them 
against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the 

43 


Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic 
Violence. 


ARTICLE V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 
Application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall 
call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall 
be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when 
ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by 
Conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of 
Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amend¬ 
ment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred 
and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the 
Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, 
shall be deprived of it’s equal Suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adop¬ 
tion of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under 
this Constitution, as under the Confederation. 

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall 
be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall 
be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, 
any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary not¬ 
withstanding. 

The Senators and Representatives before-mentioned, and the Mem¬ 
bers of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial 
Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be 
bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no reli¬ 
gious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public 
Trust under the United States. 


ARTICLE VII. 

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States shall be sufficient 
for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratify¬ 
ing the Same. 


44 


Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present 
the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one 
thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence 
of the United States of America the Twelfth, In Witness whereof 
We have hereunto subscribed our Names. 

George Washington (and others) 

Articles in Addition To, and Amendment Of, the Constitution of 
THE United States of America, Proposed by Congress, and Rati¬ 
fied BY THE Legislatures of the Several States, Pursuant to the 
Fifth Article of the Original Constitution. 

ARTICLE I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, 
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II, 

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free 
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be in¬ 
fringed. 

ARTICLE III. 

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without 
the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be 
prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV. 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be 
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported 
by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, 
and the persons or things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise in¬ 
famous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, 

45 


except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, 
when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any 
person be subject for the same ofifence to be twice put in jeopardy of life 
or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness 
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without 
due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, 
without just compensation. 


ARTICLE VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a 
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have 
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature 
and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against 
him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, 
and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. 

ARTICLE VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact 
tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United 
States, than according to the rules of the common law. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX. 

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be 
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X. 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, 
or to the people. 

ARTICLE XI, 

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to 

46 


extend to any, suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against 
one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or 
Subjects of any Foreign State. 


ARTICLE XII. 

The Electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot 
for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their 
ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the 
person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of 
all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as 
Vice President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they 
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government 
of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;—The 
President of the Senate shall, in presence of,the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be 
counted;—The person having the greatest number of votes for President, 
shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number 
of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from 
the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list 
of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose 
immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the 
votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having 
one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or mem¬ 
bers from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall 
be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall 
not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon 
them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice- 
President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other 
constitutional disability of the President.—The person having the greatest 
number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if 
no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, 
the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose 
shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a ma¬ 
jority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person 
constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that 
of Vice-President of the United States. 

47 


ARTICLE XIII. 


Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their juris¬ 
diction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 


ARTICLE XIV. 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subjected to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce 
any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of 
the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, 
or property, without due |)rocess of law; nor deny to any person within 
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number 
of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the 
right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and 
Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the 
Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legisla¬ 
ture thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being 
twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any 
way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the 
basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which 
the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male 
citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

S:^CTioN 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Con¬ 
gress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil 
or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having 
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of 
the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an 
executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of 
the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against 
the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress 
may, by a vote of two thirds of each House, remove such disability. 

48 


Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and 
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be 
questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume 
or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion 
against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of 

any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal 
and void. 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro¬ 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV. 

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote, shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account 
of race, color, or previous condition of servitude— 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation. 


ARTICLE XVI. 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, 
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several 
vStates, and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

ARTICLE XVII. 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators 
from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each 
Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the 
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the 
State legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the 
Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election 
to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may 
empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the 
people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. / 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election 
or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the 
Constitution. 


49 


Helps to Study 

of 

Declaration of Independence 

1. Prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence 
the American colonies owed allegiance to the British crown. 

2. The colonies were actuated to declare their independence 
from Great Britain because of the hardships and oppressions 
which the mother country imposed upon them. 

3. The following were some of the injustices which the 
colonies suffered at the hands of Great Britain: 

(a) They were taxed without their consent, and without be¬ 

ing allowed the privilege of representation. 

(b) They were .deprived in many cases of the benefits of 

trial by jury. 

(c) Great Britain claimed the power to legislate for them 

in all cases whatsoever. 

(d) The British King caused the colonists’ towns to be 

burned and their lives destroyed, and waged war 

against them. 

4. When these oppressions became unbearable, representa¬ 
tives of the colonies met at Philadelphia, and on July 4, 1776, 
they signed the Declaration of Independence, which dissolved the 
colonies from all political connection with Great Britain, and 
declared themselves free and independent states. 

5. Great Britain refused to acknowledge the independence 
of the colonies, and the Revolutionary War resulted. The colo¬ 
nies were victorious in this war, and then became free and inde¬ 
pendent in fact as well as in name. 

50 


Read and study the purposes for iMch the Constitution of 
the United States zvas adopted: 


Preamble 

of the 

Constitution of the United States 

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more 
perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, 
provide for the common defence, promote the general Wel¬ 
fare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and 
our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITU¬ 
TION for the United States of America. 


51 


Helps to Study of Constitution and Government of 
United States 

1. When the United States was formed there were only thir¬ 
teen states. Now the Union is composed of forty-eight states. 

2. The United States is a republic, which is that form of 
government wherein the people rule and perform the functions 
of government through representatives elected by them. 

3. The people are controlled in their actions and conduct by 
the Constitution of the United States. 

4. The Constitution of the United States is a written docu¬ 
ment, which defines the powers of the Federal Government and 
the limitations of the individual state. governments. It is the 
highest or fundamental law, to which all other laws must con¬ 
form. 

5. Amendments to the Constitution of the United States may 
be made by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress and 
after ratification by the State legislatures of three-fourths of the 
States comprising the United States. 

6. The Constitution divides the powers of government into 
three branches: 

(a) Legislative 

(b) Executive 

(c) Judicial 


52 


LEGISLATIVE OR LAW MAKING BRANCH. 

1. All legislative or law making powers are vested in Con¬ 
gress, which meets in Washington, District of Columbia, at least 
once in every year. 

2. Congress consists of a Senate and a House of Represen¬ 
tatives. 

3. The Senate is composed of two vSenators from each state 
elected by the people thereof, for six years. 

4. A Senator must be at least tliirty years of age, and nine 
years a citizen of the United States, and an inhabitant of the 
state from which he is chosen. 

5. The Senate is presided over by the Vice-President of the 
United States, who has no vote unless it be equally divided. 

6. The House of Representatives is composed of members 
elected by the people in districts for a term of two years. The 
number of Representatives from each State varies according to 
its population. Each State is entitled to at least one Represen¬ 
tative. 

7. A member of the House of Representatives, who is 
usually called a Congressman, must be at least twenty-five years 
of age, and seven years a citizen of the United States, and an 
inhabitant of that State in which he is elected. 

8. The “Speaker” is the presiding officer of the House of 
Representatives, and is chosen by the members thereof. He 
must be a member of that body at the time of his election. 

9. For powers conferred on Congress by the Constitution 
see page 37. 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH. 

1. The executive branch of the government is that branch 
which executes or enforces all laws. 

53 


2. The President is the Chief Executive of the United States. 
He is elected for four years by the people through electors chosen 
from each State. 

3. Electors are persons elected by the voters of each State, 
and the number equals the whole number of Senators and Repre¬ 
sentatives to which each State is entitled in Congress. 

4. The President must be a natural born citizen, and at least 
thirty-five years of age, and fourteen years a resident within the 
United States. 

5. The President is assisted and supported in the perform¬ 
ance of his duties by the members of his Cabinet, which is com¬ 
posed of ten members, and the order of their succession to the 
Presidency, as provided by law, in the event of the removal, 
death, resignation or inability, both of the President and Vice- 
President, is as follows; 

Secretary of State 
Secretary of the Treasury 
Secretary of War 
Attorney-General 
Postmaster-General 
Secretary of the Navy 
Secretary of the Interior 
Secretary of Agriculture 
Secretary of Commerce 
Secretary of Labor 

6. The President sends or delivers messages to Congress 
from time to time regarding the condition of the country, and 
recommends to its consideration such measures as in his judg¬ 
ment are necessary and expedient. 

7. A bill passed by Congress must be signed by the President 
before it can become a law, with the two fallowing exceptions: 

54 


(a) If the President disapproves or vetoes a bill and returns 
the same with his objections, and if it is then passed by 
both houses of Congress by a two-thirds vote, it will 
become a law without his signature. 

(bj If the President fails to return a bill to that house in 
which it originated, with his objections, within ten days 
(Sundays excepted) after it has been presented to him, 
the same will become a law in like manner as if he had 
signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment pre¬ 
vent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

8. The President is Commander-in-Chief of the Army and 
Navy of the United States, and has power to grant p^lrdons for 
offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeach¬ 
ment. He has power by and with the consent of the Senate to 
make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur, 
and he has power to nominate by and with the consent of the 
Senate: members of his cabinet, ambassadors, other public minis¬ 
ters, consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, etc. 

9. In case of death, resignation, or inability to perform his 
duties, the President is succeeded by the Vice-President, who is 
elected together with him for a term of four years. 

10. The President, Vice-President and all other officers of 
the United States can be removed from office on impeachment 
for and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and 
misdemeanors. The United States Senate has sole power to try 
all impeachments. 

JUDICIAL BRANCH. 

1. The judicial power of the United States is vested in one 
Supreme Court and such inferior courts as Congress has ordained 
and established. 


2. Judges of the Supreme Court and inferior courts hold 
their offices during good behavior. 

3. The Judges of the United States Courts interpret and 
apply the laws. If any of the departments of the government 
exceed the limits marked out in the Constitution, the act is irreg¬ 
ular and void, and the judicial department is entrusted with the 
function of deciding such questions. 

4. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land and 
therefore the final interpreter of the Constitution. 

5. The Supreme Court meets in Washington and is composed 
of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices, who are appointed 
by the Pr^esident by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate of the United States. 

6. The United States is divided into nine judicial circuits, 
in each of which is located one United States Circuit Court of 
Appeals, and as many district courts as Congress has seen fit to 
establish. 


56 


Helps to Study of State Government 

1. The State is one of the forty-eight parts which constitute 
the United States, and is organized with certain powers of self- 
government. 

2. Every State has a written constitution of its own, which 
is the highest law within that State, excepting, of course, the 
Constitution of the United States. 

3. The State Government is divided into three branches the 
same as the Federal Government. 

(a) Legislative 

(b) Executive 

(c) Judicial 

LEGISLATIVE OR LAW MAKING BRANCH. 

1. The legislative, or law making, branch for the State is 
called the State Legislature. 

2. The State Legislature consists of a Senate and an Assem¬ 
bly. 

3. The members of the Senate and of the Assembly are 
elected by the people, and their number is dependent upon the 
population, the State being divided into Senatorial and Assembly 
districts. 

4. Senators are elected for two years, and Assemblymen for 
one year. 

5. The Legislature meets at the capital city of the State, 

57 


6. The power of the State Legislature to make laws is abso¬ 
lute and unlimited, except as restrained by the Constitution of 
the State. The State Legislature cannot, however, enact any 
laws on those subjects which the Constitution of the United 
States expressly delegates to the Congress of the United States. 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH. 

1. The Governor is the Chief Executive of the State and is 
elected by the people thereof for a term of two years. 

2. It is the Governor’s duty to sec that all laws are faithfully 
enforced. 

3. Every bill which shall be passed by the Senate and Assem¬ 
bly must, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor. 
If he approves, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it with 
his objection to the house in which it originated. If after a 
reconsideration by both the Senate and the Assembly, two-thirds 
of the members of each house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall 
become a law notwithstanding the objections of the Governor. 

4. The Governor is the Commander-in-Chief of the naval 
and military forces of the State. 

He has power to convene the Legislature, or the Senate only, 
on extraordinary occasions. 

He communicates by message to the Legislature at every ses¬ 
sion the condition of the State, and recommends such matters 
to it as he shall judge necessary. 

He transacts all necessary business with the officers of govern¬ 
ment, civil and military. 

He has power to grant pardons after convictions for all 
offenses, except treason and cases of impeachment. 

5. The second highest officer in the State is the Lieutenant 
Governor, who presides over the Senate. In case of the im- 

58 


peachment of the Governor, or his removal from office, death, 
inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, 
resignation, or absence from the State, the powers and duties of 
the office devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant 
Governor is elected at the same time and for the same term of 
office as the Governor. 

6. The following is a list of some of the other State officials: 

Attorney-General 
Comptroller 
Secretary of State 
Treasurer 

State Engineer and Surveyor 

JUDICIAL BRANCH. 

1. The judicial branch of the State Government comprises 
the various courts, which interpret and apply the law. 

2. The highest court in the State is the Court of Appeails, 
which meets in Albany and consists of a Chief Justice and Asso¬ 
ciate Justices, who are elected for a term of fourteen years. 

The Supreme Court for the State of New York, holds sessions 
in and for each of the various counties in the State. Supreme 
Court Justices are elected by the people for a term of fourteen 
years. 


59 


Helps to Study of County Government 

(Note) It is recommended that the reader consult the Muni¬ 
cipal Year Book of the City of New York, which may he pur¬ 
chased for 15 cents at the Municipal Reference Library, Muni¬ 
cipal Building, Manhattan. 

1. The County is one of the parts into which a State is 
divided for the purpose of local self-government. 

2. New York State is composed of sixty-two counties. 

3. There were nine original counties created November 1, 
1683. The last county created is the Bronx—on November 5, 
1912. 

4. The sheriff is the chief executive officer of the county, and 
is elected by the voters thereof. 

5. Other county officials are: 

County Judges 
District Attorney 
County Clerk 

County Register (in some counties) 


60 


Helps to Study of City Government 

{Note) It is recommended that the reader consult the Muni¬ 
cipal Year Book of the City of Nezv York, which may he pur¬ 
chased for 15 cents at the Municipal Reference Library, Muni¬ 
cipal Building, Manhattan. 

1. The City of Greater New York is divided into five 
boroughs: Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Richmond. 

2. The chief executive officer of the city is the Mayor. 

3. The chief financial officer of the city is the Comptroller. 

4. The Board of Aldermen is the local law making body, and 
its presiding officer is called the President of the Board of Aider- 
men. 

5. The chief executive officer of each borough is the Borough 
President. 

6. All of the above officers are elected by the people for a 
term of four years, except the Aldermen who are elected every 
two years. 

7. The mayor is supported in the administration of the city’s 
affairs by twenty-nine departments, some of which follow, the 
heads of which are appointed by him. 

Building 

Charities 

Correction 

Fire 

Health 

Parks 

Police 

Street Cleaning 

Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. 
f.l 


Schools, Libraries and Reading References 

Evening schools where adult foreigners may secure instruc¬ 
tion in English and in Civics, and circulating libraries where books 
on United States History, Civics and Geography may be secured 
free of charge, are maintained in the more thickly populated 
counties. 

In order that the reader may be aided in his search for knowl¬ 
edge on these subjects, a few standard text books are listed here¬ 
under for reference: 

References to Text Books 


HISTORY 

Anderson—Junior Class History of the United States. 
Eggleston—New Century History of the United States. 
Gorton—Elementary History of the United States. 

Hart—Essentials of American History. 

Mace—School History of the United States. 

Montgomery—Leading Eacts of American History (Revised). 
Ulmann and Strachan—Tales of Old New York. 

CIVICS 

Boynton—Actual Government of New York. 

Boynton—School Civics. 

Garner—Government of the United States. 

Hoxie—Civics for New York State. 

Shimmell—Government of the United States. 

Young—Government Class Book (New York Edition). 

GEOGRAPHY 

-Natural Introductory Geography. 

Dodge—Elementary Geography. 

Dodge—Advanced Geography. 

Frye—First Book in Geography. 

Frye—Leading Facts of Geography (New York Edition). 
Maury—New Elements of Geography. 

02 



General Information 


WHERE TO APPLY. 

Courts exercising naturalization jurisdiction can accept dec¬ 
larations of intention and ]:)etitions for naturalization from such 
aliens only as reside within their jurisdiction, these courts being 
the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, United States 
District Courts, and all courts of record in any State or Territory 
having a seal, a clerk, and jurisdiction in actions at law or 
equity, or law and equity, in which the amount in controversy is 
unlimited. 

Aliens residing in New York County must tile all naturaliza¬ 
tion papers in either the Supreme Court or United States Dis¬ 
trict Court in Manhattan. 

Residents of Bronx County may make their declarations and 
petitions in office of County Clerk for Bronx County, 161st Street 
and 3rd Avenue, Bronx. 

Residents of Kings County (Brooklyn) may make their 
declarations and petitions in office of County Clerk for Kings 
County, Room 7, Hall of Records Building, Brooklyn. 

Residents of Nassau, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk, Westches¬ 
ter, and other counties in New York State, may make their decla¬ 
rations and petitions in the office of the County Clerk of the 
county in which they reside. 

Residents of Brooklyn, Long Island and Staten Island may 
also make their declarations and petitions in United States Dis¬ 
trict Court Clerk’s office, top floor. Postoffice Building, Wash¬ 
ington and Johnson Streets, Brooklyn, and residents of Bronx, 
New York, Westchester and other counties in the Southern Dis- 

63 


trict of New York may make their declarations and petitions in 
United States District Court Clerk’s office, top floor, Postoffice 
Building, Park Row and Broadway, Manhattan. 

Residents of Bayonne, Hoboken, Jersey City and other points 
in Hudson County, New Jersey, may make their declarations and 
petitions at County Clerk’s office, Newark Avenue, Jersey City, 
or at United States District Court Clerk’s office, Postoffice Build¬ 
ing, Nezvark. 

WHEN TO APPLY. 

The offices of the County Clerks and Clerks of the United 
States District Courts are open during the usual official hours— 
that is, between 9 A. J\I. and 4 P. M.—Saturdays until noon. 

HOW TO APPLY. . 

See “Steps to Take,” page 10. 

Naturalization Removed from Politics. 

Courts are prohibited by Congress from granting certificates 
of citizenship or holding final hearings on petitions for naturaliza¬ 
tion within thirty days preceding the holding of any general elec¬ 
tion within the territorial jurisdiction of such courts. 

Naturalized citizens are prohibited by the Legislature from 
voting at any election in the State of New York, unless they are 
actually admitted to citizenship at least ninety days before such 
election—in other words*, their petitions must be filed at least one 
hundred and eighty days before such election to enable them to 
qualify as electors. 


Women. 

Although not permitted to vote in New York State, a woman 
born in the United States is a citizen thereof, but she loses such 
pitizenship if 3he marries ^ foreigner, ^although, at thp tormina'' 

64 


tion of the marital relation, by death or divorce, she may resume 
her American citizenship. If residing abroad she must register 
before a United States Consul within one year after the termina¬ 
tion of the marital relation. 

A foreign born woman, if single, widowed, or divorced, may 
apply for citizenship, provided she is otherwise qualified, in the 
same manner as a foreigfi born man,^' except that the widow of 
one who declared his intention and died before becoming actually 
naturalized may apply for citizenship, if otherwise qualified, with¬ 
out herself making a declaration of intention. 

A foreign born woman also acquires citizenship by marrying 
a citizen, even though she does not come to this country. 

When an alien who has declared his intention becomes insane 
before he is actually naturalized, and his wife shall thereafter 
make a homestead entry under the land laws of the United States, 
she and the minor children, may, by complying with the other 
provisions of the naturalization laws, be naturalized without mak¬ 
ing any declaration of intention. 

Children. 

All children born in the United States are citizens thereof, 
even though their parents may not be citizens. 

All children born out of the United States whose parents at 
such time are citizens, either by birth or by naturalization, are 
citizens thereof, but the rights of citizenship do not descend to 
children whose fathers never resided in the United States. 

xA.ll children born out of the United States, whose parents be¬ 
come naturalized during the minority of such children, become 
citizens of the United States provided they are residing in the 
United States before they reach the age of twenty-one years. 

All children born out of the United States, even though re¬ 
siding therein from infancy, remain foreigners if the parents do 
not become citizens before such children reach the age of twenty- 

* See “Steps to Take” (page 10). 


65 



one years, thus requiring them to apply for citizenship in the 
usual way.* 

Any boy (or girl) of foreign birth, who is otherwise qualified, 
whose parents will not or cannot become citizens, may make a 
declaration of intention to become a citizen * on the very first day 
of his arrival in the United States or at any time thereafter, pro¬ 
vided he is at least 18 years of age. After he has resided continu¬ 
ously in the United States for five years he can apply for citizen¬ 
ship.* 

If the child’s father makes a declaration and dies before he 
actually becomes naturalized, and if such death occurs during the 
minority of the child, the latter may petition for citizenship im¬ 
mediately upon attaining his majority, without making a declara¬ 
tion of intention, provided he has resided continuously in the 
United States for at least five years.* 

When an alien who has declared his intention becomes insane 
before he is actually naturalized, and his wife shall thereafter 
make a homestead entry under the land laws of the United States, 
she and the minor children, may by complying with the other provi¬ 
sions of the naturalization laws, be naturalized without making 
any declaration of intention. 

Soldiers. 

Any alien who has been honorably discharged from the United 
States Army may petition for naturalization without any previous 
declaration of intention. He will not be required to prove more 
than one year’s residence in the United States. 

Thus, an alien who enlists in the United States Army on the 
day of his arrival in the United States, and who secures an hon¬ 
orable discharge through disability or purchase after a year’s 
service, may petition for naturalization immediately thereafter, 
and if otherwise qualified become an American citizen within 
about fifteen months after his landing. 


* .See “Steps to Take,” page 10. 


GG 



American Merchant Marine. 

Any alien seaman, who, after having declared his intention, 
serves three years on board of a merchant vessel of the United 
States, may petition for naturalization upon production of his 
certificate of discharge and good conduct during that time, thereby 
relieving him from proof of any further residence. 

Naval. 

Any alien who has served one enlistment of not less than four 
years in the United States Navy or Marine Corps, or who has 
completed four years in the Revenue Cutter Service or Naval 
Auxiliary Service, and who has received an honorable discharge 
or an ordinary discharge, with recommendation for re-enlistment, 
may be admitted to citizenship upon his petition, without any 
previous declaration of intention, and without proof of residence 
on shore. The court will accept the discharge as proof of good 
moral character, and may naturalize him immediately. 

Hawaii. 

All persons who were citizens of the Republic of Hawaii on 
August 12, 1898, are citizens of the United States. 

Hawaiian residence prior to June 14, 1900, is equivalent 
to residence in the United States and in the Territory 
of Hawaii, for the purpose of naturalization under the laws of 
the United States, and previous declaration and renunciation of 
former allegiance shall not be required of those who resided in 
the Hawaiian Islands at least five years prior to June 14, 1900. 

Philippines, Porto Rico, Etc. 

All the applicable provisions of the naturalization laws of 
the United States shall apply to and be held to authorize the 
admission to citizenship of all persons not citizens who owe 
permanent allegiance to the United States, and who may become 

67 


residents of any State or organized Territory of the United 
States, with the following modifications: The applicant shall 
not be required to renounce allegiance to any foreign sovereignty; 
he shall make his declaration of intention to become a citizen of 
the United States at least two years prior to his admission; and 
residence within the jurisdiction of the United States, owing such 
permanent allegiance, shall be regarded as residence within the 
United States within the meaning of the five years residence 
clause of the existing law. 

Misinformed Aliens Exercising Citizenship Rights. 

By the Act of June 25, 1910, any person belonging to the class 
of persons authorized and qualified under existing law to become 
a citizen of the United States who has resided constantly in the 
United States during a period of five years next preceding May 
first, nineteen hundred and ten, who, because of misinformation 
in regard to his citizenship or the requirements of the law govern¬ 
ing the naturalization of citizens has labored and acted under the 
impression that he was or could become a citizen of the United 
States and has in good faith exercised the rights or duties of a 
citizen or intended citizen of the United States because of such 
wrongful information and belief may, upon making a showing of 
such facts satisfactory to a court having jurisdiction to issue 
papers of naturalization to an alien, and the court in its judg¬ 
ment believes that such person has been for a period of more 
than five years entitled upon proper proceedings to be naturalized 
as a citizen of the United States, receive from the said court a 
final certificate of naturalization, and said court may issue such 
certificate without requiring proof of former declaration by or 
on the part of such person of his intention to become a citizen 
of the United States, but such applicant for naturalization shall 
comply in all other respects with the law relative to the issuance 
of final papers of naturalization to aliens. 

68 


Naturalization Forms 


The following printed forms are furnished to the Clerks of Courts 
by the Bureau of Naturalization of the Federal Government and must be 
used in the respective naturalization proceedings to which they relate: 

DECLARATION OF INTENTION. 

Invalid for all Purposes Seven Years After the Date Hereof. 


In the 
ss: 


of 


Court 


I, ., aged . years, occupation . do declare on oath 

that my personal description is: Color ., complexion .. 

height - feet .... inches, weight _ pounds, color of hair.. 

color of eyes . other visible distinctive marks . I was born 

in . on the . day of ., anno Domini I.; I now 

reside at . I emigrated to the United States of America 

from.on the vessel.; my last foreign residence was . 

It is my bona fide intention to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity 
to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly 

to .. of whom I am now a subject; I arrived at the port of .. 

in the State of ., on or about the . day of .. anno 

Domini I.; I am not an anarchist; I am not a polygamist nor a 

believer in the practice of polygamy; and it is my intention in good faith 
to become a citizen of the United States of America and to permanently 
reside therein ; So help me God. 


(Original signature of declarant.) 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this. 

[seal] day of .. anno Domini 191.... 


Clerk of the .Court. 

By . Clerk, 

6 ? 

































PETITION FOR NATURALIZATION. 


To the Honorable the . Court of . 

The petition of . hereby filed, respectfully showeth; 

First. My place of residence is . 

Second. My occupation is ... 

Third. I was born on the .... day of_-anno Domini 1.., at- 

Fourth. I emigrated to the United States from .. on or about 

the . day of . anno Domini 1...., and arrived in the United 

States, at the port of.. on the_day of.anno Domini 1. ..., 

on the vessel ... 

Fifth. I declared my intention to become a citizen of the United 

States on the . day of ., anno Domini 1.... at .. in 

the . Court of . 

Sixth. I am . married. My wife’s name is . She was 

born in ....... and now resides at . I Fave .... children, and 

the name, date and place of birth, and place of residence of each of said 
children is as follows: . 


Seventh. I am not a disbeliever in or opposed to organized govern¬ 
ment or a member of or affiliated with any organization or body of 
persons teaching disbelief in or opposed to organized government. I am 
not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice of polygamy. I am at¬ 
tached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and it 
is my intention to become a citizen of the United States and to re¬ 
nounce absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign 

prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly to . 

of whom at this time I am a subject, and it is my intention to reside 
permanently in the United States. 

Eighth. I am able to speak the English language. 

Ninth. I have resided continuously in the United States of America 
for the term of five years at least, immediately preceding the date of 

this petition, to wit, since the . day of ., anno Domini 1_, 

and in the State of ., continuously next preceding the date of this 

petition, since the . day of .. anno Domini 1...... being a 

residence within this State of at least one year next preceding the date of 
this petition. 


70 






























Tenth. I have not heretofore made petition for citizenship to any 

court. (I made petition for citizenship to the . Court of . 

at .. on the . day of ., anno Domini 1...., and the said 

petition was denied by the said Court for the following reasons and 

causes, to wit, ., and the cause of such denial has since been 

cured or removed.) , 

Attached hereto and made a part of this petition are my declaration 
of intention to become a citizen of the United States and the certificate 
from the Department of Labor, together with my affidavit and the 
affidavits of the two verifying witnesses thereto, required by law. Where¬ 
fore your petitioner prays that he may be admitted a citizen of the 
United States of America. 


(Complete and true signature of petitioner.) • 


Declaration of Intention and Certificate of Arrival No. from 

Department of Labor filed this - day of -- 191... 


71 


$ 









AFFIDAVITS OF PETITIONER AND WITNESSES 
TO PETITION. 


ss; 


The aforesaid petitioner being duly sworn, deposes and says that 
he is the petitioner in the above-entitled proceedings; that he has read 
the foregoing petition and knows the contents thereof; that the said 
petition is signed with his full, true name; that the same is true of his 
own knowledge except as to m.atters therein stated to be alleged upon in¬ 
formation and belief, and that as to those matters he believes it to be true. 



(Camplete and true signature of petitioner.) 

.occupation .. residing at. and.. occupa¬ 
tion .. residing at . each being severally, duly, and re¬ 

spectively sworn, deposes and says that he is a citizen of the United 

States of America; that he has personally known ., the petitioner 

above mentioned, to have resided in the United States continuously im¬ 
mediately preceding the date of filing his petition, since the .... day 

of ., anno Domini 1-- and in the State in which the above- 

entitled petition is made continuously since the . day of . 

anno Domini 1.... ; and that he has personal knowledge that the said 
petitioner is .a person of good moral character, attached to the principles 
of the Constitution of the United States, and that the petitioner is in 
every way qualified, in his opinion, to be admitted a citizen of the United 
States. 


(Signature of witness.) 


(Signature of witness.) 

[Seal.] 

Subscribed and sworn to before me by the above-named petitioner 
and witnesses this. day of .anno Domini 19. 


By 

73 


I 


., Clerk. 

Deputy Clerk. 






















AFFIDAVIT FOR ISSUING NEW NATURALIZATION 
PAPER IN LIEU OF ONE LOST OR DESTROYED. 

U. S. Department of Labor. 

Naturalization Service. 

Note. —To be used only for papers issued on and after September 27, 1906. After 
having been properly signed, sealed, and attested, this paper is to be forwarded to 
the clerk of the court out of which the naturalization paper was issued. 



., being first duly sworn, deposes and on his oath says: 

That I now reside at .; .; .; .; that on 

the .... day of ., anno Domini, 19.... the . issued to 

„„ j declaration of intention I -kj ^ i 4 . r 

1 certificate of naturalization \ .; that the said naturaliza- 

tion paper remained in my possession until on or about ., 19. 

That on or about that date . 

(Here give the circumstances as to the place and man¬ 
ner of the loss or destruction of the paper, and show what efforts have been made to 
f.nd it. The words, “lost,” “mislaid,” “stolen,” or “destroyed,” are not alone suffi¬ 
cient. 

(In case of a lost declaration state why it is needed at the present time.) 

That I truly believe the paper above mentioned to be beyond recovery. 


(Signature of applicant.) 


Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of ., anno 

Domini, one thousand nine hundred and . 

[Seal] 


73 


(Signature of attestor.) 
























Rules Governing the Granting and Issuing of 
Passports in the United States 

1. Authority to Issue.— Section 4075 of the Revised Stat¬ 
utes OF THE United States, as amended by the Act of Con¬ 
gress approved June 14, 1902, provides that the “ Secretary of 
State may grant and issue passports, and cause passports to be 
granted, issued, and verified in foreign countries by such diplo¬ 
matic or consular officers of the United States, and by such chief 
or other executive officer of the insular possessions of the United 
States, and under such rules as the President shall designate and 
prescribe for and on behalf of the United States.” The following 
rules are accordingly prescribed for the granting and issuing of 
passports in the United States. 

2. By Whom Issued and Refusal to Issue. —No one but 
the Secretary of State may grant and issue passports in the 
United States (Revised Statutes, Sections 4075, 4078) and he is 
empowered to refuse them in his discretion. 

Passports are not issued by American Diplomatic and consular 
officers abroad, except in cases of emergency; and a citizen who 
is abroad and desires to procure a passport must apply therefor 
through the nearest diplomatic or consular officer to the Secretary 
of State. 

Applications for passports by persons in Porto Rico or the 
Philippines should be made to the Chief Executives of those 
Islands. The evidence required of such applicants is similar 
to that required of applicants in the United States. 

3. Fee. —By Act of Congress approved March 23, 1888, a fee 
of one dollar is required to be collected for every citizen’s pass- 

74 


port. That amount in currency or postal money order should 
accompany each application m^de by a citizen of the United 
States. Orders should be made payable to the Disbursing Clerk 
of the Department of State. Drafts or checks will not be 
accepted. 

4. Applications.—A person who is entitled to receive a pass¬ 
port, if within the United States, must submit a written applica¬ 
tion, in the form of an affidavit, to the Secretary of State. The 
application should be made by the person to whom the passport 
is to be issued and signed by him, as it is not proper for one 
person to apply for another. 

The affidavit must be made before a clerk of a Federal or 
State Court within the jurisdiction of which the applicant or 
his witness resides, and the seal of the court must be affixed. 

If the applicant signs by mark, two attesting witnesses to his 
signature are required. The applicant is required to state the 
date and place of his birth, his occupation, the place of his per¬ 
manent residence, and within what length of time he will return 
to the United States with the purpose of residing and performing 
the duties of citizenship. He is also required to state the names 
of the foreign countries which he expects to visit, and the objects 
of his visits thereto. The latter statement should be brief and 
general in form,, thus: ''commercial business’"; (^) "to attend to 
the settlement of an estate”; "to bring wife and children to this 
country.” 

The applicant must take the oath of allegiance to the United 
States. 

The application must be accompanied by a description of the 
person applying, and should state the following particulars, viz: 
Age,-; stature, -, feet- inches (English meas¬ 
ure) ; forehead, -; eyes, -; nose, -; mouth, 

1 An applicant who states that he is going abroad on commercial business must 
submit with his application a letter from the head of the concern which he represents. 

75 









-; chin, -; hair, -; complexion, -; face, 

-; special identifying marks, if any (scars, birthmarks, 

etc.) 

The application must also be accompanied by duplicate photo¬ 
graphs of the applicant, on thin paper, unmounted, and not 
larger in size than three by three inches. One must be attached 
to the back of the application by the clerk of court before zvhom 
it is made, with an impression of the seal of the court so placed 
as to cover part of the photograph but not the features, and the 
other sent loose, to be attached to the passport by the Depart¬ 
ment.Photographs on cardboard or postcards will not be 
accepted. 

The application must be supported by an affidavit from at least 
one credible witness that the applicant is the person he represents 
himself to be, and that the facts stated in the application are true 
to the best of the witness' knowledge and belief. This affidavit 
must be made before the clerk of court before whom the applica¬ 
tion is executed and the witness must be an American citizen, who 
resides within the jurisdiction of the court. The applicant or 
his witness must be known to the clerk of court before whom the 
application is executed, or must be able to satisfy such officer as 
to his identity and the bona fides of the application. 

5. Native Citizens. —An application containing the informa¬ 
tion indicated by rule 4 will be sufficient evidence in the case 
of a native citizen; except that a person born in the United 
States in a place where births are recorded will be expected to 
submit a birth certificate with his application. 

A person of the Chinese race, alleging birth in the United 
States, must obtain from the Commissioner of Immigration or 
Chinese Inspector in Charge at the port through which he pro- 

1 The loose photograph must be signed across its face by the applicant, and the 
signature thereon must correspond to the applicant’s signature affixed to the appli¬ 
cation. 


76 







poses to leave the country a certificate upon his application, under 
the seal of such officer, showing that there has been granted to 
him by the latter a return certificate in accordance with rule 16 
of the Chinese Regulations of the Department of Labor. For 
this purpose special blank forms of application for passports are 
provided. 

Passports issued by the Department of State or its diplomatic 
or consular representatives are intended for identification and 
protection in foreign countries, and not to facilitate entry into 
the United States, immigration being under the supervision of 
the Department of Labor. 

6. A Person Born Abroad, Whose Father Was A Native 
Citizen of the United States. —In addition to the statements 
required by rule 4, his application must show that his father was 
born in the United States, resided therein, and was a citizen 
at the time of the applicant’s birth. The Department may re¬ 
quire that this affidavit be supported by that of one other citizen 
acquainted with the facts. 

7. Naturalized Citizens. —In addition to the statements 
required by rule 4, a naturalized citizen must transmit his certi¬ 
ficate of naturalization, or a duly certified copy of the court 
record thereof, with his application. It will be returned to him 
after inspection. He must state in his affidavit when and from 
what port he emigrated to this country, what ship he sailed on, 
where he has lived since his arrival in the United States, when 
and before what court he was naturalized, and that he is the 
identical person described in the certificate of naturalization. 
The signature to the application should conform in orthography 
to the applicant’s name as written in his certificate of naturaliza¬ 
tion, or an explanation of the difference should be submitted. 

8. Woman's Application. —If she is unmarried, in addition 
to the statements required by rule 4, she should state that she 

77 


has never been married. If she is the wife or widow of a native 
citizen of the United States the fact should be made to appear in 
her application, which should be made according to the form pre¬ 
scribed for a native citizen, whether she was born in this country 
or abroad. If she is the wife or widow of a naturalized citizen, 
in addition to the statements required by rule 4, she must trans¬ 
mit for inspection her husband’s certificate of naturalization or 
a certified copy of the court record thereof, must state that she 
is the wife (or widpw) of the person described therein, and must 
set forth the facts of his birth, emigration, naturalization, and 
residence, as required in the rules governing the application of a 
naturalized citizen. She should sign her own Christian name 
with the family name of her husband: (Thus, Mary Doe; not 
Mrs. John Doe.) 

A married woman’s citizenship follows that of her husband. 
It is essential, therefore, that a woman’s marital relations be 
indicated in her application for a passport, and that in the case 
of a married woman her husband’s citizenship be established. 

9. The Child of a Naturalized Citizen Claiming Citi¬ 
zenship Through the Naturalization of the Parent. —In 
addition to the statements required by rule 4, the applicant must 
state that he or she is the son or daughter, as the case may be, 
of the person described in the certificate of naturalization, which 
must be submitted for inspection, and must set forth the facts of 
emigration, naturalization and residence, as required in the rules 
governing the application of a naturalized citizen. 

10. A Resident of an Insular Possession of the United 
States, Who Owes Allegiance to tfie United States. —In 
addition to the statements required by rule 4, he must state that 
he owes allegiance to the United States, and that he does not 
acknowledge allegiance to any other government, and must sub¬ 
mit affidavits from at least two credible witnesses having good 

78 


means of knowledge in substantiation of his statements of birth, 
residence and loyalty. No fee is required for the issuance by 
the Department of an insular passport. 

11. Expiration and Renewal of Passport.— A passport ex¬ 
pires six months from the date of its issuance. A new one will 
be issued upon a new application, accompanied by the old pass¬ 
port, and, if the applicant be a naturalized citizen, the old pass¬ 
port will be accepted in lieu of a certificate of naturalization, if 
the application upon which it was issued is found to contain 
sufficient information as to the naturalization of the applicant. 
Passports are not renewed by the Department, but a person 
abroad holding a passport issued by the Department may have it 
renewed for a period of six months upon presenting it to a diplo¬ 
matic or principal consular officer of the United States, when 
it is about to expire, with a sworn statement of the names of 
the countries which he expects to visit and the objects of his 
visits thereto. No passport shall be renewed more than twice. 

12. Wife, Minor Children, and Servants.— When the ap¬ 
plicant is accompanied by his wife, minor children, and maid¬ 
servant, who is a citizen of the United States, it will be sufficient 
to state the fact, giving their names in full, the dates and places 
of their birthand the allegiance of the servant, when one pass¬ 
port will suffice -^or all. For a man-servant or any other person 
in the party a separate passport will be required. A woman’s 
passport may include her minor children and maid-servant under 
the above-named conditions. 

(The term “maid-servant” does not include a governess, tutor, 
pupil, companion, or person holding like relation to the applicant 
for a passport.) 

13. Titles. —Professional and other titles will not be inserted 
in passports. 


79 


14. Blank Forms of Application. —They will be furnished 
by the Department free of charge to persons who desire to apply 
for passports. Supplies of blank applications are also furnished 
by the Department to clerks of courts. 

15. Address. —Communications should be addressed to the 
Department of State, Bureau of Citizenship, and each communi¬ 
cation should give the post-office address of the person to whom 
the answer is to be directed. 

16. Additional Regulation. —The Secretary of State is au¬ 
thorized to make regulations on the subject of issuing and grant¬ 
ing passports additional to these rules and not inconsistent with 
them. 

To become effective February 1, 1915. 

WOODROW WILSON. 


The White House, 

12 January, \9\S. 
































